Facades+ returns to the Windy City with an all-day program featuring the latest development in building enclosure design and technology. Co-chaired by Stephen Katz and Ashley Rogow of Gensler’s Chicago office, this program will cover everything from high-performance facades to new iconic projects across the city and region, as well as strategies for increasing climate resilience and energy performance. You won’t want to miss this event as Facades+ celebrates the conference’s 10th anniversary of learning and sharing the best in building envelope design, development, and construction.
Facades and Energy Performance: Challenges and Solutions
The day will start off with a panel on an ever-pressing topic in facade design: energy performance. Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM) technical principal Lucas Tryggestad, Thornton Tomasetti project engineer Stephanie Chiricuta, and Buro Happold associate Paulina Szpiech will present cutting-edge projects and methods to better the environmental impact of the building envelope. Tryggestad will present SOM’s net zero Campus Instructional Facility at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), followed by presentations from Chiricuta and Szpiech on their firms’ energy modeling advances, and a discussion moderated by Gensler technical designer Ashley Rogow.
Future Faces of Chicago: Lincoln Yards and Fulton Market
As neighborhoods undergo change in Chicago’s continued fast pace of development, architects are faced with the task of defining their new faces. Gensler’s work at 333 North Green in Fulton Market, and with developer Sterling Bay in Lincoln Yards, has led to the design of geometrically interesting facades that will meet challenges of energy performance while making a mark as defining elements of their neighborhoods. Gensler senior associate Michael Townsend and associate Maria Tasada will be joined by Sterling Bay’s vice president of architecture, Rick Kintigh, offering a glimpse into how architects can work with developers to achieve common goals.
New Definitions of Good Facade Design: Expanding the Envelope
Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects’s (JGMA) president Juan Gabriel Moreno and Thornton Tomasetti senior principal John Peronto will discuss the changing nature of how the industry defines successful facade design, with a focus on timber. Peronto will touch on his work on Ascent, the recently-completed tallest hybrid timber building in the world, and discuss the potential to use timber products on the exterior. Moreno will present on the progression of his firm’s work with timber, addressing how work with heavy and mass timber in Chicago has changed since JGMA began working with timber a decade ago.
Facade Repurposing: Successful Strategies for Merging the Old with the New
The need to rehabilitate existing buildings, rather than to only build ground-up, is a pressing topic in the age of climate crisis. The reuse of materials, and renovations to meet higher levels of energy performance, are crucial conversations for all parties involved in facade design. This panel brings together Wiss, Janney, Elstner associate principal Anthony Cinnamon, Preston Design & Construction Consulting president Amy Preston, and Edward Peck Design managing director Edward Peck for a discussion on facade upgrades and renovations on some of Chicago’s largest projects, including the Willis Tower. By combining perspectives from design, engineering, and construction, the conversation will highlight the importance of collaborative project management in achieving much needed reuse work to meet environmental goals. The panel will be moderated by Gensler technical director Stephen Katz.
A New Era for Natural Ventilation
The day will close with a presentation from Krueck Sexton Partners partner Juan Villafañe and associate principal Mariusz Klemens, showcasing their work on the International Square Food Hall. Chicago-based Krueck Sexton has designed a naturally-ventilated facade for the project, which is currently under construction in Washington D.C. Klemens and Villafañe will discuss their design that meets changing needs for occupant comfort, and a facade design that will better integrate the building with its surrounding urban environment.
See the full agenda for Facades+ Chicago here, and register here.
